Danyal B

Helping you level up everyday.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

One of my absolute favourite quotes is:

"Stay small enough long enough and you'll be big enough soon enough"

The reason this aligns with me is cause I was always quick to celebrate my financial wins in life. Everytime I got a new client, or even a bonus from the job I had, I used to instantly upgrade my lifestyle by buying more expensive products, or treating myself more frequently. The term for this is lifestyle inflation.

Meaning, whenever your money goes up, your expenses go up. This way of living used to feel nice but it always destroyed the benefits of me making that much money, cause I could've either invested that money in long term assets, or reinvested that money into my own business.

Lifestyle inflation caused me to miss out on those benefits, as the money came and went in an instant, with it's chances of increasing long term being wasted.

Now I don't mean to make it sound like treating yourself is a bad thing. But oftentimes treating yourself can also mean holding off on 'Taking profit' too early, and reinvesting money in yourself towards things that will actually INCREASE your income, whether it's better equipment, better subscriptions, more inventory, more contractors, etc.

If you can stay small enough for an extended period of time, while funneling money into the machine that actually makes you money, it's only a matter of time till the profit you can take becomes 4x-5x as much. And that's something you'll be able to sustain hopefully.

Now notice how I didn't ask you to hoard all of the money you make. You're still spending and investing, but in the right things, which is the only way MORE money will circle back to you.

Self control will take you a long way.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

This line from '100 Meters' (the movie) reframed the way I perceive pressure on this journey towards greatness.

For context, the character was being asked how he prepares himself mentally when competing in the big races + how he deals with (or avoids) nervousness.

"Well the thing is, you don't have to cope with your anxiety. This world is filled with possibilities of failure.

But the thing is, that's what gives life it's charm. Fear isn't pleasant, and safety isn't always pleasant. Anxiety is a feeling one gets when one challenges themselves.

So if one must sacrifice something for victory, then give up your body because it's just a collection of cells.

Glory is forever."

Now my take on it is that this doesn't necessarily mean you hurt yourself or sacrifice yourself in the process of achieving what you want to achieve.

What I got from this... is that the fear you're feeling can be a sign that you're pursuing something worth having.

Growth is not found where you feel comfortable. It's found when your heart races and your body freezes, but you still manage to push through it all and move forward.

You will get nowhere by escaping fear.

Success comes from accepting fear as part of the journey.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

I read Atomic Habits 3 years ago and this line has stuck with me ever since:

“It doesn't make sense to continue wanting something if you're not willing to do what it takes to get it.

If you don't want to live the lifestyle, then release yourself from the desire.

To crave the result but not the process is to guarantee disappointment.”

For example, if you want to become a multimillionaire entrepreneur, but you:

Don't want to go through sleepless nights.

Don't wanna face rejection.

Don't wanna face failures and financial losses.

Don't wanna leave your close-minded and mediocre circle.

Don't wanna experience loneliness or deal with peak anxiety.

Then deep down, you don't actually want to become a multimillionaire entrepreneur.

Cause you don't even want to go through the journey it takes to get there.

Therefore, the moment you face an obstacle, you'll give up and get disappointed.

Might as well pursue something that has a journey you’re okay with.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

I just read something so simple yet so profound.

"Build something so aligned that simply being yourself becomes your marketing."

Take from this what you will, but so many young entrepreneurs are chasing trends and finding the "next best niche" when the next best niche is within you, if you spend enough time searching for it.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

Content creation is no longer optional.

You either build your personal brand today or get overshadowed by people less skilled than you.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

Every human being you interact with has their own formula for making money.

If you speak to a successful taxi/uber driver, they'll be able to share their formula for making PKR 100-200k/month.

If you speak to a successful fullstack dev, they'll be able to share their formula for making PKR 200k-1M/month.

If you speak to a successful business owner, they'll be able to share their formula for making PKR 1M-10M/month.

The ranges aren't fixed but the exposure to different formulas is guaranteed. Put yourself out there and interact with as many successful people as you can.

Your circle dictates your future, so surround yourself with people who want to move up in the world. Absorb their formulas and patterns.

Go through this season of learning so you can enter the season of earning.

Ask as many questions as you can (politely).
Don't be afraid to ask the people who are doing better than you.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

A quick way to measure how successful you are today:

- Would the 8 y/o version of you look up to the person you have become?

If the answer is yes, you're doing a great job. Keep going.

If the answer is no, figure out why that's the case, and fix it until it becomes an automatic yes.

Awareness and accountability will open many doors in your life. You just have to be brave and humble enough to examine yourself and point out both the good and the bad. Capitalize on the good and work diligently to erase the bad.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

I just hit 30,000 followers on Instagram having posted less than a 100 videos so far.

It's probably the easiest thing I've ever done in my life.

When I started creating content, I did it to avoid something I like to call 'future regrets'.

If I hadn't started, I'd be sitting here in my room thinking about what would've happened if I had started creating content a year ago, instead of starting today. That's what I like to call a 'future regret'.

I imagine many of you have something that you've always wanted to start, but never came around to acting on it.

Let this be your sign to start today, and let the compound effect do it's thing. So that you may not fall ill to 'future regrets'.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

I truly feel like there's a gap being created in the ecom space due to the fact that a lot of gen z is moving toward digital products and agency models.

In the years to come, physical products might be the way to go.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

Reading all the books in the world will not get you anywhere.

The only thing that’ll move you forward is action.

Action -> Failure -> Action -> Failure -> Action -> Success.

That’s how it goes. That’s how you break into the upper percentile.

Fail fast, fail forward.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

if you're into neuroplasticity, delusional optimism, subconscious reprogramming, content creation, and biohacking. you've made it.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

The reason you don't wake up excited every morning isn't cause your life sucks.

It's cause you aren't building something meaningful.

The moment you start pursuing and creating something that truly adds value to society, you'll understand this post.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

If you always complain about the life you have, you will only find more reasons to complain.

If you wake up everyday and write down all the things you're grateful for, you will find more things worthy of gratitude.

In my early twenties, I didn't realize the power of perspective and gratitude. I didn't know that the way I perceive the world is how the world will present itself to me. I always underestimated the impact of my own words when it came to shaping my own life.

Now I understand the true meaning of belief. In God and in myself.

You have the power to change your life for the better. Use it.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

An hour spent in the ring is significantly better than 10 years spent observing it.

As someone who's always gone against the grain and found a generous amount of success across multiple verticals, I think it's only fair for me to tell you that NO ONE prepares you for the big stuff. Everyone's so stuck in the same monotonous cycle of life, that when you try to make it big, you don't even know where to start.

Take it from me. I'm currently in the early stages of starting my own DTC business, and I have to spend hours every single day, purely on research, reading, listening, asking questions, chatting with LLMs, etc. Purely because none of this stuff was taught to me by my parents or in school, college or uni.

If you're a teenager or in your early twenties reading this, PLEASE attempt to start your own business just once, and see what hurdles you come across. Experience will become the best teacher.

Get your hands dirty.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

Recently I found myself running away from writing my thoughts down and journaling regularly, only to end up with significantly higher levels of brain fog and the feeling of being lost, even though I know where I want to go in life.

Every time I come back to the practice of writing, my thoughts become more streamlined, I gain back the ideas I had lost, and I feel a positive sense of desire towards the things I want to achieve.

Oftentimes the secret to getting what you want successfully is hidden in the smallest things within your routine. The 5 minutes of reading, the 5 minutes of gratitude journaling, the 5 daily prayers, etc. Your body can only go on for so long unless you train your mind and nourish your soul.

A pen and paper go a long way. Start using them.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

Feels good to have launched a newsletter.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

If you aren't building a personal brand in 2025 you're missing out on a shit ton of opportunities, especially in Pakistan.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

If perfectionism stops you from taking action, the only possible outcome is imperfection.

Take action, fail forward.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

Stop complaining and start taking accountability.

Fix your sh*t.

[Danyal B @notdanyal]

A fundamental pillar of success is having good friends.

People who force you to level up are priceless.